Senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks was named to the Soccer America National Team of the Week for the third time this season on Monday.

Oct. 21, 2008

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -
Notre Dame senior All-America forwards and Hermann Trophy candidates Kerri Hanks (Allen, Texas/Allen) and Brittany Bock (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) added more weekly hardware to their trophy cases on Tuesday, earning national team of the week honors for their respective efforts in last weekend's BIG EAST Conference victories at Providence (5-0) and Connecticut (2-0). Hanks garnered a place on the Soccer America National Team of the Week for the third time this season, while Bock was tabbed for the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week for the first time in 2008.

Hanks, who was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in four weeks on Monday, tallied three goals and an assist in last week's wins. With her two-goal game at Connecticut, Hanks also became the school's all-time leader with 81 goals, passing Jenny Heft (80 from 1996-99). What's more, Hanks stretched her goalscoring streak to 10 games, tying Amanda Guertin's 2001 Irish record and the sixth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history -- others with 10-game streaks include current U.S. National Team standouts Abby Wambach (at Florida in 2001) and Christie (Pearce) Rampone (at Monmouth in 1996). The Division I record for most consecutive games with a goal is 17, set by Penn State's Tiffany Weimer in 2005.

Hanks has a BIG EAST-best 17 goals and 39 points this season, also ranking fifth in the nation in goals per game (1.06) and seventh in points per game (2.44). Hanks also leads the conference with 11 goals and 25 points in league play. All of these numbers are even more amazing when you consider Hanks averages just 64.5 minutes per game; at her current scoring pace, if she played a full 90 minutes, Hanks would have 24 goals, six more than current national leader Laura Heyboer of Michigan State.

A three-time All-American and the 2006 Hermann Trophy recipient, Hanks also has surged into a tie for eighth in NCAA Division I history with a school-record 225 points (81G-63A), pulling even with former U.S. National Team player and coach April Henrichs (formerly at North Carolina from 1983-86). Additionally, Hanks is tied for 15th all-time with those 81 goals, currently sharing that spot with Texas A&M's Ashlee Pistorius and William & Mary's Natalie Neaton. She also is just seven assists away from becoming the third Division I player ever to amass 70 goals and 70 assists in her career, joining former Notre Dame great Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A from 1996-99) and North Carolina/U.S. National Team legend Mia Hamm (103G-72A from 1989-93). In fact, only one other Division I player besides Hanks, Streiffer and Hamm has managed to record 70 goals and 60 assists in her career -- UC Santa Barbara's Carin Jennings notched 102 goals and 60 assists from 1983-86.

Bock wore the playmaker's hat last week, chalking up a goal and four assists, including helpers on both of Hanks' scores at Connecticut. She now leads the Irish and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in assists (team-high seven) this season, while also standing third on the team and tied for seventh in the conference with 17 points. She has been especially potent in the past six games, tallying 13 points (four goals, five assists).

Both Hanks and Bock are among the 10 finalists for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Public voting constitutes a portion of the final balloting and fans can vote for the Irish duo daily between now and Nov. 19 by going on-line to www.seniorclassaward.com.

Having clinched its 11th BIG EAST regular-season title in 14 years of conference membership with Sunday's win at Connecticut, No. 1 Notre Dame (16-0-0, 9-0-0 BIG EAST) returns home Friday for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) conference clash with No. 24/18 Rutgers at Alumni Field.

Tickets for this, and all remaining Irish home games, as well as the 2008 BIG EAST Championship semifinals and finals (to be played at Notre Dame Nov. 7 & 9), can be purchased by contacting the Irish Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356) or by stopping by the Joyce Center Gate 1 ticket windows on the second floor during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET, weekdays). In addition, fans can buy their Irish women's soccer tickets on-line by going to the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com/tickets), or by visiting the Alumni Field ticket windows on game night.